John W. Hallett, Jr., MD
#19: 1995-1996
Dr. Hallett is Professor of Surgery and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at the Mayo Medical School and Mayo Clinic.
Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, he graduated from the United States Air Force Academy with a degree in engineering and biologic sciences. After graduating from Duke Medical School in 1973, he completed his general surgery training at Wilford Hall United States Air Force Medical Center, where one of the first noninvasive vascular laboratories intensified his interest in vascular physiology. In 1979, he completed his vascular surgery fellowship at Harvard and the Massachusetts General Hospital, under the mentorship of R. Clement Darling, who instilled in him a sustained interest in aortic surgery, especially abdominal aortic aneurysms.
From 1980 to 1984, he served as Chief of Vascular Surgery and Director of the Noninvasive Vascular Laboratory at Wilford Hall United States Air Force Medical Center. During that time, he was appointed as a Consultant in Vascular Surgery to the Air Force Surgeon General. He also wrote the first of four editions of The Handbook of Patient Care in Vascular Diseases.
In 1984, he was recruited to the Mayo Clinic, where he rose to Professor of Surgery in the Mayo Medical School. From 1990 to 1997, he directed the Vascular Surgery Fellowship Program and worked with the Executive Committee of the Program Directors in Vascular Surgery. He also has served as Chair of the Executive Committee of the Mayo Gonda Vascular Center. For his contributions to education, he was inducted into the Mayo Teaching Hall of Fame in 1993.
His research efforts have focused primarily on population-based studies of vascular diseases, with special emphasis on abdominal aortic aneurysms and renovascular hypertension. At the national level, he worked as President of the Peripheral Vascular Surgery Society from 1989 to 1990, and as a Governor of the American College of Surgeons from 1992 to 1995. He has served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Vascular Surgery, and currently serves on the Advisory Council in Vascular Surgery for the American College of Surgeons.
In 2001, Dr. Hallett left the Mayo Clinic to become Director of the Vascular and Cardiac Wellness Center of Maine, and Clinical Professor of Surgery at Tufts Medical School.
His interests include American art and literature, woodworking, and Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
